The curious case of TMH
In 2006, I published my first and only single author book, 'The Hole In The Wall'. It was published by Tata McGraw Hill. They said I would get a royalty if my book was sold. They sent me 4 copies and I was delighted. That was the last I heard from them. I never saw the book in any book shop. After a year or so, I got a mail from them. Congratulations, they said, your book has won the best book award from the Indian Society for Training and Development. I joyously asked them how many copies had been sold. They said none so far. What about the 20 or 30 copies that friends of mine have bought? I asked. We don't know about that, probably rejects, they said. I went to the Newcastle University library and found 4 copies of the book. The University of North Carolina had a reference to it, maybe they got a reject copy too. Someone wrote from Japan. I bought your book, he said, but it is not available from India, I got it from Singapore. Three days ago, on a free day in Brasilia, I went into a book store and typed my name into their computer. Out popped a portugese translation of my book. I bought a copy.
I am so proud of my book. It has never sold a copy.
Labels: education, publishers, Tata McGraw Hill, the hole in the wall